Approximation of Bit Error Rates in Digital Communications
Abstract
This report examines the estimation of bit error rates (BERs) in digital communications. Specifically, the authors will investigate recent work on using bounds to construct approximations for differential quaternary phase shift keying (DQPSK) transmission with Gray coding over an additive white Gaussian noise channel (AWGNC). In previous research, an estimate of this BER was constructed by averaging a lower and upper bound. The authors show that more direct methods can be applied to estimate the BER and that, in some cases, more accurate results can be obtained. The BER is a fundamental performance measure of a system, quantifying the reliability or integrity of a received signal. The instantaneous BER, for many practical communication systems, in particular, wireless communications systems, can be written as a function involving the standard Marcum Q-Function. This famous function has received much attention in the digital signal processing literature due to its intractability. This project involves estimation of the Marcum Q-Function. It should be of interest to both the radar and communications research communities. The authors examine bit error rate estimation in digital communications. They show that a method applied in a recent publication that uses bounds to estimate bit error rates can be improved considerably by using more direct techniques of estimation. The work is relevant to the long-range research efforts into radar detection issues associated with Task AIR 04/206, EWRD Support for AP-3C E/LM2022 Radar System. Although focusing on a communications application, the results transfer directly to the latter. The technique examined here will be useful for engineers and scientists looking for efficient and accurate approximations for intractable integrals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA471551
Entities
People
- Graham V. Weinberg
- Sharon Lee
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group